I Just Wanna See the Stars With You
by splishsplashsplooshy
Summary: Galinda joins a site for LGBT youth and meets someone who goes by Fae. Elphaba is greeting the newcomers on a site for LGBT youth and meets someone who goes by the name of PinkGoodWitch. Meanwhile, Galinda and Elphaba have been forming a tentative friendship after Galinda bullied Elphaba for years.


Galinda looked over her shoulder, eyes darting around the room and ears straining to hear the sounds from outside. She was paranoid her parents would get home without her noticing and walk in. But that was ridiculous. They'd be gone for hours. She had plenty of time.

The thought didn't quell her nerves, though.

She turned back to her laptop, fingers brushing over the keyboard. The blank google page stares back at her as if daring her to just do it. To just type what she's looking for. She closes her eyes, takes a deep breath, opens them, and types.

It doesn't take long for the page to load. She hardly has time to panic and click out of the tab. She doesn't, her eyes instead scanning the different sites as her mouse hovers over each one. It makes it way back to the top which seems as good a choice as any. Another deep breath and she clicks it.

While it loads, she takes a second to look around again, make sure her parents didn't come home while she was inwardly panicking. They didn't.

She looks around the site for a bit, looking at most recent posts to gauge how active it is. Considering it was the first option, she figured it'd be pretty active. Still, it couldn't hurt to check. Judging from the last posted in boards, it seemed active. Many new posts and threads a day. So she signed up.

Galinda still couldn't believe she was doing this. But after contemplating it for weeks now, with a little edge of desperation, she finally decided to go for it. She's joining a site geared toward LGBT+ people.

She looks over her shoulder again.

She joins with the name PinkGoodWitch. She didn't dare to go with her name or even any variation of it. She didn't know how many Galinda's there were in the world, but she didn't dare risk it. Not that anyone at her school was even on this site. They weren't exactly the most LGBT+ friendly. Especially not to one of the most - if not the most - popular girl there. She had her own following and everything.

She'd surely still be popular once she returned to high school in just a few days. For whatever reason, though, it didn't sound as appealing as it used to. She had to pretend so much. It was exhausting. But it was also the life she'd been raised for.

She looked around the site some more before finding the introduction board. Seemed as good a place to start as any. She typed up her introduction post.

_PinkGoodWitch:_

_hi! i'm PinkGoodWitch, though you can call me Pink or something._

_i'm still trying to come to terms with being a lesbian. i've grown up being told i'll have a wonderful husband and will be a fantastic wife. it gets so tiring. i had a boyfriend for two years, and i thought i might actually like him. but nothing ever felt right. eventually, i broke up with him, just last year. my friends turned against me, wondering why i'd let him go when we were "so perfect for each other" and "the power couple."_

_my friends and i are back now. i wonder if that was a good idea._

_anyway...i guess I need help coming to terms with all this? and also coming out to my parents. i have no idea how i'd do it or how they'd react. they probably wouldn't be happy, but anything beyond that...i don't know. guess i'll find out. maybe._

Galinda posted it, then stared at the screen afterward. She could feel (and hear) her heart racing. Was she actually doing this? And would anyone even reply? The site had seemed really active when she checked, but what if that was just a lucky time and it was over now, and no one would respond?

Her phone buzzed, causing her to nearly leap a foot into the air. She grabbed it, seeing a text from Pfannee and tried to quash down the feeling of disappointment rising within her. Really, what else would it be?

_**Pfannee:** Hey gurl! Are you ready for school to start?_

Galinda stared at it for a moment before replying.

_**Galinda:** not really. it'll be nice to see you again though!_

She looked at her phone screen for a moment longer. Why did that feel so fake? She had done whatever she could to avoid having to meet with Pfannee or Shenshen, in hopes that separating herself from them would make it easier. Whatever "it" was.

She set her phone down, intent on ignoring it, and looked back at her laptop. Her heart leaped into her throat when she saw she had a notification.

Someone had replied.

She paused, suddenly terrified, before she brought herself to click on the little bubble that popped up. It was by someone with the username Fae. And judging from the number of posts - thousands! - they'd been on the site for a long time.

_Fae:_

_Welcome to LGBTchat._

_Accepting you're gay isn't going to happen overnight. But it will happen if you give it the time it needs._

_If you need someone to talk to, feel free to PM me._

Galinda stared at the screen, trying to process what had just happened. Someone had responded and even said she could message them. But did she dare to? Or was it just a courtesy thing and they weren't expecting her to respond? Her pointer hovered over the message button.

Besides, what would she even say? Was there anything she could say? And this person was one of the moderators, too. So it was probably just a courtesy thing. They were probably supposed to say that.

She almost closed the tab but took a deep breath and decided to just give it a shot. Honestly, she almost felt as if she would explode if she didn't talk to anyone. So she clicked the message button.

A little tab at the bottom came up, featuring "Fae" and a little green circle next to it. Her fingers hesitated over the keyboard as she struggled to come up with something to say. Eventually, she just got frustrated and sent the first thing to come to mind.

**PinkGoodWitch:** hello?

She then sat and waited, heart hammering, as a little popup told her Fae was typing.

**Fae:** Oh. Hi.  
**Fae:** Wasn't actually expecting you to message me.  
**Fae:** What's up?

Galinda winced. So it was more of a courtesy thing…

**PinkGoodWitch:** oh. sorry.  
**PinkGoodWitch:** and i'm mostly just...bored?

**Fae:** Is that a question?  
**Fae:** Also, it's okay.  
**Fae:** So, boredom. I'm guessing that's what brought you to this site, then?

**PinkGoodWitch:** something like that, yeah  
**PinkGoodWitch:** and i guess i just needed somewhere to talk  
**PinkGoodWitch:** somewhere i could...be me!

She flushed at that. She didn't know what compelled herself to type that, but it was the truth. She was tired of pretending.

**Fae:** I get that.  
**Fae:** It's the same reason I've been on this site for 3 years.

**PinkGoodWitch:** 3 years...wow  
**PinkGoodWitch:** how do you manage to stay on a site for so long?

**Fae:** It's become my home.  
**Fae:** More of a home than my actual one, at least.

**PinkGoodWitch:** oh

**Fae:** Sorry. I said too much.

**PinkGoodWitch:** no no it's ok!  
**PinkGoodWitch:** i get it  
**PinkGoodWitch:** i think it's good you managed to find somewhere you feel like you belong

**Fae:** ...Yeah, well.  
**Fae:** Everyone needs a place like that.

Her face had cooled down from earlier but now heated up again at that comment. A place like that...to call home? She'd never had that place. But maybe this site could become it?

Before she could ponder on that too much, she heard the sound of the garage opening.

Her parents were home.

A few hours early.

**PinkGoodWitch:** yeah…  
**PinkGoodWitch:** oh shoot, my parents are home! i gotta go, there's no way i can let them know i'm on here  
**PinkGoodWitch:** i'll...talk to you later?

**Fae:** Oh. Yeah, sure.  
**Fae:** Seeya later.

Galinda quickly closed the tab and cleared any evidence she had been on it from her search history. It had been a while since her parents last searched through it, but it was better to be safe than sorry. She quickly neatened her desk - it was already neat, but everything could always be neater - just in time to hear footsteps on the stairs.

She took a deep breath and turned to the door, a smile plastered on her face. Even that felt fake.

"Galinda?"

She tried not to flinch at the name. She'd been wanting to change it to Glinda for a while now but had no idea how to go about broaching the subject with her parents. So for now, she had to live with being called Galinda. And really, she'd gone 17 years with it. She could live for at least another year with it.

"Hey, dad. Was your trip okay?" she asked, trying to keep her voice light. Everything was fine. They were a few hours early, but surely that was okay too. Everything was just as it should be.

She's gay.

For a moment, it felt as though she couldn't breathe. As if just the thought had become a tangible thing and had wrapped its fingers around her throat and refused to let go. Her vision swam before her eyes and she clutched at the desk to keep herself upright. The moment passed almost as soon as it had come.

Her dad didn't notice. "It was fine. The traffic was far better than we had anticipated, and we had even been able to leave earlier. Your mother wanted to stay longer, but I managed to convince her we should leave early. Can't leave you alone for too long!" He grinned at her. Galinda felt sick.

Her dad was already walking back down the stairs. She turned back to her laptop. It had been a lot of fun talking to Fae. She hoped she could talk to them again soon. Hopefully without her parents interrupting.

* * *

It was the day before the first day of school, and Elphaba was nervous.

She usually was. She wasn't entirely sure why. It was annoying. It's not like she had any particular reason to be nervous. There would be new people at the school - the freshmen especially - who wouldn't be used to her green skin. But they would be, within time. She just had to hope they wouldn't do anything before then.

And while Elphaba was nervous, she had to admit she was also excited. She had been looking forward to this moment for years. Ever since she found out about it.

Dr. Dillamond, the only Animal on staff at Shiz High was finally going to be her teacher. He only taught seniors, so she was thrilled to finally be able to learn from him.

Even though she'd never been taught by him, she still knew of him. Everyone did. He was one of the most talked-about teachers at the school. At any of the nearby schools, including the middle school. And not just because he's an Animal. He was one of the most brilliant - if not the most brilliant - teacher at the school. She couldn't wait.

And even though he hadn't been her teacher officially, she'd still talked to him. It started in her freshman year. She had been running away from a group of people making fun of her skin and accidentally bumped into him. He had taken one look at her and the people in the hallway and brought her into his class.

From then on, she always came to him whenever she just needed a break from reality or just someone to talk to. It was either there or the library.

So Elphaba knew firsthand how brilliant and endlessly kind Dr. Dillamond was.

The first day of school wasn't the only reason she was nervous. It was the one she had the most sense for being nervous, which was saying something. This second reason why she was nervous had nothing to do with school and everything to do with the person she had talked to online just a couple days earlier.

They hadn't talked much since, though Elphaba desperately wanted to. But she didn't want to be pushy. Pink hadn't been online since they talked, and she couldn't help but wonder if maybe she had decided not to stick with it. Maybe it wouldn't help. Or maybe her parents found out and were forbidding her from going on it.

She tried not to think about it too much. She could send her a message, but she didn't want to risk anything if her parents somehow happened to notice. Or maybe she could? She had no idea what Pink's parents were like. From their short conversation, she gathered that Pink definitely didn't want them to know what she was doing, and she had quickly left after finding out her parents were home.

Or maybe her parents hadn't gotten home and she just wanted to leave the conversation.

Elphaba looked back at their conversation, seeing how it had ended. It definitely seemed likely that she just wanted to end the conversation, but she had no idea if that was the actual reason. Maybe her parents did get home just then.

She stared at the conversation a little longer. Not reading it, more just...acknowledging its existence. Her fingers tapped against the keys on the keyboard, not quite giving enough pressure to actually press any, as she contemplated sending a message. In the end, she decided not to.

Instead, she looked through some posts on the site. She wasn't kidding when she said this site had become her home. She'd been on there for 3 years. She became a moderator only a few months ago, but it was something she enjoyed doing. Every so often there'd be some trolls and she helped deal with those. That was the less fun part about it.

The most fun was welcoming newcomers, just as she had done for Pink. They were usually a simple message - welcoming them to the site, a sentence or two relating to their post, and an offer to message them - but it brought her some joy and she always hoped they'd find a home there, just as she had done.

She didn't normally get people messaging her. A few did, but they were few and far between. Even before she became a mod, she'd welcome people. She often wondered if that was part of why she did become one. Either way, she hadn't been expecting Pink to actually message her.

Elphaba was glad she did, though. Even if all they'd had so far was a short conversation that ended abruptly. It was nice.

Fuck it, she thought to herself. She'd message Pink, right now. She just hoped her parents wouldn't somehow notice.

**Fae:** Hey.

Now she just had to wait.

She went and commented on a few more posts - a lot of which were just forum games that, while pointless, could also be fun - until she noticed Pink was online. It wasn't long before the dots came up, indicating that she was typing.

**PinkGoodWitch:** hi!

**Fae:** How've you been?

**PinkGoodWitch:** i've been good. just preparing for my first day of school tomorrow. not really looking forward to it :(

**Fae:** I feel you on that. It's my first day tomorrow too.  
**Fae:** At least I'm finally a senior. I'll be done soon.

**PinkGoodWitch:** oh same!  
**PinkGoodWitch:** i just have to get through this year, and then…  
**PinkGoodWitch:** i'm not sure what i'll do after high school

**Fae:** That's fair. I barely know what I'm doing.  
**Fae:** One thing I do know is that I'm getting out of this city as soon as I can. I'd like to go to the Emerald City, but...we'll see.

**PinkGoodWitch:** i've been to the emerald city a few times. it's a nice place. really busy.

**Fae:** Yeah. I mainly just need a change of scenery.

Elphaba scowled. A change of scenery wasn't exactly what she needed - she'd had enough of that when she was younger traveling through Quadling Country.

**Fae:** Or, more specifically, I just need to get away from my family.

**PinkGoodWitch:** i wish i could get away from mine  
**PinkGoodWitch:** i dont think they want me to, though  
**PinkGoodWitch:** they might have me go to a college in the emerald city, but i wont be away from them. not really  
**PinkGoodWitch:** not if i'm going to be studying business like they want me to

**Fae:** What do you want to study?

**PinkGoodWitch:** i'm not sure  
**PinkGoodWitch:** not business  
**PinkGoodWitch:** what about you?

**Fae:** Something with science.  
**Fae:** Biology, maybe. Depends on how this year goes.

**PinkGoodWitch:** yeah. depends on how this year will go for me, too.

Elphaba heard Frex call her down for dinner at that moment. She scowled, wanting nothing more than to stay and talk to Pink some more. But Frex wouldn't let her stay up here, so she had no choice. With a sigh, she started to say goodbye to Pink.

**Fae:** I have to go now. It was nice talking to you again, though.

**PinkGoodWitch:** yeah! it was nice talking to you too :D

**Fae:** Oh, and before I go…  
**Fae:** If you just want to talk to someone at school, there's an app for this site that you can download. It's mainly used for PMs, so you can just message me and I'll get to it as soon as I can.

**PinkGoodWitch:** oh that's cool...i'll be sure to get it!

**Fae:** Alright. Seeya, then.

**PinkGoodWitch:** bye!

Elphaba got up to go downstairs, seeing Frex and Nessa already there. She sat down next to Nessa, trying to get as far away from Frex as possible. Which was difficult, considering there were only three chairs at this table. Two, actually. One for her and Frex, and a spot for Nessa and her wheelchair. Plus an empty spot on the other side of the table from Nessa.

She avoided looking at Frex as she gets her food. Frex and Nessa say grace while she sits there awkwardly, and then finally they're eating.

She's hardly able to get a bite before Frex is talking to her. "Are you ready for your first day of school tomorrow, Elphaba?"

Elphaba finishes chewing, biding her time until she has to speak. "As ready as I'll ever be, I suppose."

Frex frowns, clearly displeased with her answer, before he turns to Nessa and smiles at her. "And what about you, dear Nessie? It'll be your first year at Shiz High. Are you excited?"

"Yes. I've heard many stories," her eyes flick over to Elphaba before she turns back to Frex, "and I'm sure it will all go well."

"I'm sure of it as well. There's a lot of good teachers there, I'm sure you'll love it."

"You're lucky. Just wait until you get to your senior year - that's when you get the bad teachers. Like Morrible." Elphaba scowled at the thought. She'd heard only bad things about the Literature teacher. That was one thing she was definitely not looking forward to for the school year.

"I'm sure Morrible isn't as bad as you make her out to be. You haven't even had her as a teacher yet." Frex frowned.

"I don't need to have her as a teacher to know the stories everyone's told about her. Besides, I'll have her as a teacher soon enough." Elphaba was ready for this conversation to be over. She went back to her food, eating and ignoring Frex who looked like he wanted to say more but had realized she wouldn't listen further. He sighed and gave in.

The rest of the meal was eaten in silence.


End file.
